Learning Forum

[marhark92]

I am applying loads to fish skulls on ANSYS. It seems by default that I have a tetrahedral. However, how do I change it to a 4-noded tetrahedral? Thanks!

[Erik Kostson]

Hi
Under the details of mesh and element order, we can set it to linear.
In general though it is not recommended to use linear tets (e.g., can be overly stiff in e.g., bending - search the internet for more info)

All the best

Erik

[Sampat Kumar]

 

Hi marhark92,

As Erik correctly mentioned, You can change the Element order in the Details section, keeping in mind the suggested recommendation.

To get more insights on the same you can refer to the following details.

If the default mesh is tetrahedral and you want to change it to 4-noded tetrahedral then click on “mesh” and go to the “detail of the mesh” and then click on the “default mesh” option and expand it, there you will find the option of ” Element Order”. The default setting of the Element Order is “Program Control” then click on the triangular arrow in the ” program control” and select the “Linear order”. 

The Linear order will provide 4-noded tetrahedral Element and you can also find option of quadratic in which you will get 10-noded tetrahedral Element.

As you have discussed, you are applying loads to fish skulls So, generally it is not recommended to use 4-noded TET Elements for complex problem due to the Shear Locking problem. You can search this on internet for more details regarding Shear Locking. You can choose 10-noded TET Element for reducing the chances of Shear Locking problem and get better accuracy in the result as per your requirement.



You can refer this followng links for more details.
Element Order (ansys.com)
Thanks and Regards
Sampat

https://forum.ansys.com/forums/topic/how-to-access-the-ansys-online-help/

https://forum.ansys.com/forums/topic/guidelines-for-posting-on-ansys-learning-forum/#latest

 

[marhark92]

Thank you for the response and reccomendation. With your suggestion of 10-noded tetrahedral mesh, how can I change it to a 10-noded tetrahedral mesh? Thanks! 

[Erik Kostson]

Hi

If you want 10 node that is the default tet mesh (so just leave the above element order settings to prog. controlled).

See also this for more info:

https://forum.ansys.com/forums/topic/changing-mesh-type/

Finally I recommend the getting started course for meshing and modelling in ansys mechanical.
https://courses.ansys.com/index.php/courses/getting-started-with-ansys-mechanical/

All the best

Erik